An Autobot Weapon's Specialist
by The Cowgirl Bookworm
Summary: I never expected to be on this slagging planet. Most importantly I never expected to be falling for one of it's inhabitants. An Autobot Mechanic from Ironhide's POV. IronhideXOFC Co-written with Topkicker26.
1. Prologue

**Hey there everybody! Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all that jazz! I've been doing a little work with Topkicker26 and we came up with this. So be sure to leave her some credit for this! Enjoy and leave your thoughts in reviews!**

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"Ratchet, get out of the way!" I yelled as the rogue Decepticon fired off several shots, one of them headed right for my brother. A small smile of triumph flashed over Starscream's face as he saw my brother crumple to the ground. Alright, that's enough. This slagger is pissing me off. Raising my plasma cannon I let loose three rounds, slamming into his lower chest, arm and leg. He limped for several steps before transforming back into his F-22 Raptor guise and taking off.

"Hold on Ratch, stay with me now." I said, lifting him from the ground. A quick scan of my surroundings showed Lennox and his team to be about 300 yards west of my current position. With little hindrance for the fragile buildings that surrounded me I made my way to them, going slowly so as to not cause Ratchet more pain.

"You fool." He whispered, and he was right. I was a fool. I couldn't fix him, none of us could. He was the Medical Officer, the one who had been trained back on Cybertron on how to care for the wounded and injured.

"Ironhide, what happened?" William Lennox, the commander of an elite team of humans that fought with us, asked. I had come to respect Lennox, while not having as much military experience as, well, _me _he was quite skilled for a human.

"Starscream." I growled, laying my brother down on the ground gently.

"Alright, we need to get you guys back to base. I'll radio ahead to let them know." Lennox said, walking off with the other humans. Everything passed by me in a blur. Ratchet was pulled gently inside one of the C-130 Hercules cargo planes that transported us. With a slight groan I pressed my whole body inward, finally emerging as a GMC Topkick.

I moved up the ramp, headed for a place at the side of my brother. He had been unable to transform back into his Hummer guise so he sat there as pain racked through his body. The hours back to our base seemed to take longer and longer until I was almost certain my processor had melted away. Once the plane touched down at our new Arizona base and the ramp lowered did I finally manage to get Ratchet back into my arms before I placed him on the runway's pavement.

"Ironhide, go on. We've got someone coming to try and-and..." One soldier said, trailing of at the end. I knew what he was going to say though. They found someone that they think could fix him. As the humans would say, yeah right.

"Come on." Optimus, our leader, told me. I nodded and rose to my feet. But still, I was able to notice the black government sedan pulling up and the girl who got out of it. She was in her twenties and had a golden tan, her golden hair had been pulled up into a ponytail. A maroon shirt, bearing the slogan 'I Only Kiss Sun Devil Fans' in gold, was resting on her along with a pair of jeans and boots.

_This _was who they brought in to try and fix my brother? A scruffy organic female who looked more at home in a human mall than working on an Autobot? My brother was doomed, and it was my fault. If only I had thrown myself in front of Starscream's missile, I could have taken the hit. I'm tough, it would have only been a scratch.

**Ironhide, stop thinking like that. **A voice in my head said, almost like it was out of breath. I smiled slightly, Ratchet had activated his communication, or COM, link to speak to me. Even though the link was internal I could still feel his pain through the link. It had to do with us being brothers, siblings in our species had a special connection with each other. We always knew where the other one were and we could, unfortunately, feel each others pain through the COM link.

**You don't know what I'm thinking. **I responded, trying to cover the panic in my had also had one more brother, Jazz. He was our reconnaissance officer, given to annoying us when we were unhappy. I missed him deeply, a wound so deep that I fear my Spark, a Cybertronian's equivalent of a heart, was scarred so much that I might not be able to live if Ratchet died. When Jazz had known that he was going to die, as soon as Megatron, the leader of our enemies, had picked him up he had sent out one last COM link before he was offlined.

**_Love you guys._**

**But I know you too well, I don't need to know what you're thinking. **Ratch joked, trying to laugh through his pain. I swear I could have saved him. It still weighed heavy on my conscious. If I lost one more brother, my Spark wouldn't be able to take it anymore. I was the older brother, for Primus' sake. I'm supposed to protect them!

**But, that stupid human femme they brought in can't possibly be able to fix you. **I told him, bringing the obvious into the spotlight.

**Actually she's not doing a half bad job, she was a bit nervous though. Optimus had to tell her that she was able to do this. I think I will make it out of this Ironhide. I'm not done yet.** He laughed, and truth be told if I focused enough I could feel her rooting around in his chest. Pieces of metal that had caused him pain were thrown aside as if they were meaningless. Well, in truth they were meaningless. They only caused pain.

**Well, I'm glad for that. Keeping your slagging aft in gear is one thing I don't want to be responsible for. **


	2. An Oath

The time before we received word that Ratchet had been completely repaired seemed to last forever. In the words of one of this planet's musicians 'passes like molasses in wintertime, hey but it's July'. Ugh, I am absorbing way to much of this world's culture. That and Bumblebee needs to stop playing music around me constantly. I looked upward, a flash of gold catching my optics.

"Optimus, look." I said, pointing to the window. It was more a partition of glass, allowing the humans with their under-advanced optical systems to keep an eye on us. The girl stood there, staring down. Optimus rose from his sitting position to look at her. She just stood there, her gaze shifting from him to me and back again. Optimus raised two fingers and motioned for her to come down to us. Her golden head disappeared and if I listened close enough I could hear her racing down the stairs. Her steps were heavy, indicating that she was either leaning forward in order to get to us quicker or she was heavy.

I immediately threw heavy out of the imaginative window once she pushed open one of the ground level doors, she was as skinny as my smallest finger. Optimus kneeled down in front of her in order to speak to her on her own level.

"I am Optimus Prime, we are in your debt. You saved Ratchet, one of my oldest friends." He said, smiling slightly.

"It was nothing." She said, looking down at the floor. I pulled up her photo and immediately downloaded everything there was to know about her that I could access without breaking into any government files.

Name: Alisha Grearin

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 140 lbs.

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Brown

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Mechanic

Schools Attended: Abraham Lincoln Elementary, Pueblo Del Sol Junior High, and Central High School, Arizona State University

Parents: John Grearin, Delilah Lanes (divorced)

Current Address: 1241 7th Street Phoenix, Arizona

I memorized the information, committing every fact I could find to my central processor, my memory. I held my tongue as I looked at the others, waiting to see of they would speak. They didn't.

"Nonsense! If it weren't for you we would have lost him!" I cried, almost rising to my feet. Alisha took several steps backward, shocked at my outburst. Optimus whirled on me. 'Quit scaring her' he mouthed, then turned back to the girl.

"Ironhide, my weapon's specialist." He said, Alisha nodded and gave a slight smile.

"Is this all you guys do? I would think you'd be outside, doing something." She asked, looking back down at her feet.

"We are working with your government, weeding out Decepticons, but they have us stay here." Optimus explained.

"Decepticons?" She queried, looking puzzled.

"Cybertronians like us, but they will kill humans to achieve their means. We are Autobots, we prefer a peaceful co-existence. You've met Ironhide and Ratchet already, there are Skidz and Mudflap." Optimus elaborated, then gestured back at the ever annoying Twins.

"Arcee, Chromia and Flareup." He said, pointing to the femme triplets.

"And finally Jolt and Sideswipe." The silver mech and the blue one nodded their greetings.

"So you guys just fight these Decepticon guys? You don't have any family or anything?" She questioned further, such a naïve femme. If we had family we wouldn't be here defending your miserable little planet from threats beyond their control would we? Optimus did not rebuke her as I would have but merely shook his head.

"No, we are some of the last survivors of our race." He said, looking down at the girl. Her eyes widened noticably and she poitned at Optimus' shoulder.

"Oh, here hold on. Let me get my pliers and I'll get that out." She said, racing out of the hangar. I followed where her gaze had been to see that shapnel had become trapped in Optimus' shoulder. Alisha returned, carrying a large set of pliers which she snapped several times.

"Ok, here lay down. I have that out in a second." She said, climbing up on his shoulder and obscuring the work she was performing. I watched her work, she was much like Ratchet, becoming absorbed in her job. At last she backed away, leaning down to pick up the stray shrapnel. I heard the footsteps before I saw him. Ratchet had left his sickbed, coming back to his family.

"I certainly hope I still have my job! She's been taking all my patients!" He cried, spreading his arms wide to embrace me. I clapped him on the back, glad to have my brother back with me. The girl, Alisha, had moved off to sit on a wall by herself. I looked at her and Ratchet nodded. We sat on either side of her, she immediatly blushed and tried to hide herself with her hair. Ratchet swept it aside with a smooth motion of his fingers.

"Thank you." He said, a small smile creasing his face.

"Your welcome." She responded, her eyes closing as she entered her recharge cycle. Oh slag, what did humans call it again? Oh, yes. Sleep. She slept through most of the night, joined eventually by Ratchet. As a cold wind blew through the hangar she rolled closer to me. I allowed her to, cupping a hand around her body so that she might stay warm. Before i fell into my recharge cycle, I swore to myself that I would do anything to protect this girl who by saving my brother had saved me.

---

The next mmorning when I awoke, she was still by my side and Optimus was conversing quietly with Major Lennox. I removed my hand from the girl, noticing her shiver slightly. The miserable insulation that the humans possesed, her hair, was tangled and matted. It stood out from her head like a halo.

"Major Lennox, I would like this girl to join our team. She has experience working on engines, and besides Ratchet would appreciate a little help in the medical bay." Optimus said, his deep voice rousing the girl. I smirked to myself as I lifted Alisha up from the ground and deposited her on my shoulder.

"Welcome to the team, girl." I said, looking over at her as she perched on my shoulder like a bird. She waved to Lennox and Epps.

"Sure, why not?" She said, seeming to answer a question that hadn't been spoken. I smiled, perhaps I would learn to like this girl.


	3. Hell On The Spark

I groaned, leaning back farther against the wall. Optimus had taken Alisha to her apartment in order to gather up her things, she would be living on base now. It seemed strange now that she had gone. Of course I had existed without her being here with me before, but now it seemed so strange.

"_No if, and's, but's or maybe's_

_So you wanna be her baby_

_I can read your face like a book_

_Yeah it looks easy to love her but believe me brother_

_It's harder than it looks_

_She's as pretty as a picture_

_Every bit as funny as she is smart_

_Got a smile that'll hold you together_

_And a touch that'll tear you apart_

_When she's yours she brings the sunshine_

_When she's gone the world goes dark_

_Yeah she's heaven on the eyes_

_But boy she's hell on the heart_" The song warbled through the base, evidence of the new PA system. It made me think of her, Alsiha. In the few days that she had been here she had always had a smile present on her face. Every time she had seen one of us she had smiled and nodded, muttering a barely audible 'Hi' or 'How are you?'.

"_Yeah she's good when she's bad_

_She's cute when she's mad_

_And she does all the wrong things right_

_Yeah boy it's a fact when they're made like that_

_You ain't ever gonna sleep at night_

She's as pretty as a picture

_Every bit as funny as she is smart_

_Got a smile that'll hold you together_

_And a touch that'll tear you apart_

_When she's yours she brings the sunshine_

_When she's gone the world goes dark_

_Yeah she's heaven on the eyes_

_But boy she's hell on the heart_" She was, to put it in a way that would be easier to understand, respectful, kind, in other words, she was a delight to be around. I had caught her whistling one time, standing there and watching clouds roll arcoss this endless Arizona sky. The crude tonal variations that passed for music in this world tripped effortlessly from her lips forming a synphony of simple music.

"_Once you feel her touch and you've felt that rush_

_It's gonna mess up your head_

_But here's the kicker son_

_Your old ticker's gonna beat you half to death_

_She's as pretty as a picture_

_Every bit as funny as she is smart_

_Got a smile that'll hold you together_

_And a touch that'll tear you apart_

_When she's yours she brings the sunshine_

_When she's gone the world goes dark_

_Yeah she's heaven on the eyes_

_But boy she's hell on the heart_

_Yeah she's hell on the heart_" Why was I thinking about her? She's a human, and not even a soldier at that. She is below me, not worth my time to even care about. I shouldn't think like that, to the humans she is imprtant. Lennox had explained it to me as a 'insurance policy' in case one of us got hurt and Ratchet wasn't around to fix us.

"Ironhide, she's back. Why don't we help her with her things?" Ratchet said, looking out from behind the hanger's doorway. Sure enough, she was winching a long, white trailer from Optimus' trailer hitch. She waved to Optimus as he drove off, leaving her to pull her things up three flights of stairs, and a right in a hallway all the way to the middle of the hanger on the third floor. Yes I had memorized the way to her room. I was her guardian and she was my charge, I needed to know where she slept and lived most of the time.

She had already entered the base when Ratchet and I had arrived outside, her boxes had been piled neatly in a stack. Leaning over I picked up half of the stack, Ratch picking up the other. I counted off the windows, waiting outside hers patiently. I reached upward and knocked lightly, letting her know we were here. Like an old farmwife she threw open the windows. A smile was still present on her face as she lifted the boxes from us and set them around her.

"Thanks guys!" She called out, waving to each of us. I sat across from her open window, watching her as she met and argued with Wheelie. She smiled as she watched TV, her laugh ringing down through the hanger and causing me to feel things that I hadn't felt in a very, a very, long time. Her laughter dissappeared as she held Wheelie out the window and threatened him.

"You want to take him, or should I just drop him?" She asked Ratchet, smiling as she dangled him out of thie window. Ratchet had come to speak to her and had promptly noticed that Wheelie was doing something, well, not right to her leg. I felt myself shake with silent laughter, she was doing exactly what I would have done. The light from their sun was beginning to dim, and sooner than I would have thought it had set. I settled myself down, leaving enough room Ratchet when he came back. He had taken her somewhere.

It drove me crazy to wait for her to come back.


	4. Disaster

"Ironhide, come on! Let me go with you! I won't cause any trouble!" She begged profusly, latching herself to the front of my hood and squishing her face up into my windshield. "Pleassseeeee?"

"No, I can't take you. You might get harmed." I responded, pulling into the large C-130 cargo plane that was taking us to Sydney. A Decepticon had been spotted there and the N.E.S.T team was rolling out to deal with this new threat. I'll never forget the look on her face as the ramp to the plane began to rise. Her mouth was pulled into a frown and her eyes held sadness, but only for a moment. In a flash of anger she stormed off, back into the hanger.

"Relax Ironhide, recharge before we get to Sydney." Optimus said, settling himself down on his alt-form's many tires. Seconds later the only noise that could be heard was the soldiers breathing as even they took Optimus' advice and settled down for 'sleep'. Why were humans so loud? Did they not realize that I could have tracked them anywhere just by their breathing? It was annoying, their respitory systems are far to underdeveloped. I obeyed though, shutting all systems down and waiting for the signal that would precede our decent into Australian airspace.

"N.E.S.T air is now descending, estimated time to landing ten minutes." The pilot intoned over the intercom, preceding the slight bump that told of the plane's engines slowing slightly. i ran a complete systems check over myself. Cannons were in good conditions, no flat tires. I was ready to roll. The plane rolled to a stop on the runway, the tires smoking slightly.

"Autobots, be alert." Optimus ordered, going out first. I follwed, Ratchet close behind. Lennox and his men kept a tight perimiter around us, guns held firmly in their hands. I sent out a signal sonar, a feature that Autobots had. It would search for any other Cybertronian signature and report back the results.

I analyzed the signal as it reutrned, it showed a large Decepticon presence near the eastern edge of the city. I passed the information onto Optimus, following him with the soldiers in tow behind us. The signal became stronger as we progressed deeper into the city. Finally, the strength was through the roof.

"He's close Optimus, he's very close now." I whispered, my tires crunching the ground underneath.

"Ironhide, there's nothing here." He responded, cycling his vents to release his anger.

"One of Megatron's tricks perhaps?" Ratchet pondered. He had a point, with the power that Megatron had taken from the Cube he might have been able to cause a decoy signal with a strength like this. A strength storng enough to fool Autobots.

"But why?" Lennox asked, hopping out of me to gaze around the vacant lot we had pulled up to. The sound of the ocean could be heard, a constant in this variable of a world. against what I wanted to do I began to relax. If there was no Decepticon we wouldn't fight. For a being that was formed to fight and fight well I did not like to take lives.

"If we're here, there's only Bumblebee back at base..." Optimus mused, shifting slightly. I thought about this. With us being here, there's almost no protection at base. Alisha was at risk! We had to get back.

"He's going to attack the base, that's why he drew us out. He's going to do something at the base." I said, voicing my thoughts. There was an intense storm of swearing from Lennox and quickly seconded by Epps.

"Back to the plane. Now!" He commanded, leaping back into me as the rest of the Autobots took off at high speed. The airplane hadn't refuled by the time we arrived, and we had to wait a maddening hour and a half before we could leave. Unlike our trip down here we were alert and ready to attack at any moment. Time seemd to pass far to slowly, the minutes becoming hours and the seconds becoming minutes.

"Ironhide get ready to rock and roll." Lennox said, bringing me out of my systems check. Two days had passed, it had taken us roughly twelve hourse to get to Sydney, another half a day to figure out that the Decepticon wasn't in Sydney and another twelve hours to get back here. The plane rolled slowly, the ramp extending at an aggonizingly slow rate. I gunned forward as soon as we recieved the all clear.

The base was in shambles, the small guard that had remainedwere milling about aimlessly. Massive pot holes, the kind that comes from our feet when we engage in a battle, were littered up and down the runway. But what held my attention was the fact that Sam and Mikaela were examining a girl, who was bleeding profusely from a cut to her forehead.

"RATCHET!" I yelled, running closer to make my own inspection. I slipped my fingers underneat her her gently and lifted her up. She flopped over in my hand. Ratchet came up a few seconds later.

"Oh Primus. She eeds to get to the med bay, now!" He cursed, then he sent out his medical laser to tell us exactly what was wrong. He passed the information along to me over out iternal COM link. **A broke collarbone and some fractured ribs**. I set Alisha down on the massive concrete slab that served as Ratchet's operating table. As he bagan to work on her I watched from behind him.

"Ironhide, I know you're concerned but right now that isn't helping." He said over his shoulder. I left with a huff, walking out into the sun. Usually the warmth of this palnet's sun soothed my nerves but today it did nothing. With a grunt I sunk down against the side of the building and let my regret wash over me. I could have kept her safe. She wouldn't be sitting in there. It was my fault.

"It was none of your fault, Ironhide. We never expected a Decepticon attack." Optimus said, laying a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the Prime, despretely trying to believe him but to no avail.

"But Optimus she asked me if she could come with us, if she had she would have been so much safer." I replied, voicing my regrets.

"What happened, happened. Don't agonize over what you _could _have done, think about what you _will _do." Optimus responded, trying to impart some sage advice to me.

"I _will _go rip that fragging Decepticon into multiple pieces and melt his slaggy body over a hot fire and -" I growled, letting my anger wash over me. It empowered me, made me feel strong. Alisha's face entered my mind though, her smile and the way she would laugh. My anger vanished in a second.

"Ironhdie, you can see her now. She's stable." Ratchet called out from the hangar. I hurried into the med bay, looking down at Alisha. During the time i was absent Ratchet must have had a hospital bed brought down for her. She gave a weak smile at all of us, Optimus had followed me, and laughed slightly.

"Well, I guess this means I get to go with you now."


	5. Vigil

"Ironhide, this vigil is not nessecary. You can leave her side and I promise that she will not expire. Mikaela has promised that we could borrow Wheelie to us for target pratice." Ratchet said, running a check on Alisha yet again. The red light danced across her skin before dissappearing back into him.

"I understand Ratchet, but I made a mistake and so I will pay. I should have realized that the guards that remained were rather incompetent. It was my fault for not realizing this and coorecting the issue by bringing her." I responded, still standing at attention by Alisha's bedisde. Ratch had prohibited moving her from the Autobot medical bay, if to much stress were applied to her during the move into the human's hospital she might pass out or experience extreme pain. I had become a staunch supporter when he mentioned extreme pain. Needless to say the human doctors backed down.

"Ratchet, let me watch her. I am taking her on as my responsibility." I growled, sitting down to watch her through the night. Ratch seemed to realize that he could hardly sway me from my resolution, he nodded once and left to rejoin the Autobots in the hanger. Alisha hardly moved during the night, her chest rising and falling with a wheezing noise as her lung could not expand fully due to the fractured ribs. She woke seven hours before dawn.

"Ironhide! What are you doing, I have to work." She remarked as she woke up. Her voice was rather weak compared to its natural boisterous tone. She pushed her arms beneath her and tried to sit up. Using only a small percentage of strength I pushed her back down. She look frustrated.

"No, you don't. Don't you remember yesterday?" I asked, removing my hand from her. Alisha looked like she was trying incredibly hard to remember something, but apparently nothing came because she shook her head defiantly.

"No. Come on, let me go work!" She begged, turning the full force of her gaze on me. I immediatly wanted to pick her up and hold her close but I managed to resist. I believe Lennox has a term for this, 'puppy dog eyes'.

"You have a fractured rib and a broken collarbone. You are in no condition for working." I responded, using the cold hard logic to try and stop her fruitless struggle.

"You can go, I'll be alright." She said, souding so much like Ratchet that I had to stop myself from laughing.

"I'm not leaving." I replied, dreading that i might have to re-live this arguement yet again.

"Why?" Alisha questioned, turning her head on the pillow to look at me.

"It's my fault you got hurt." I told her, hanging my head in shame.

"No, it's not. It's that Decepticon's fault." She said, turning her whole body to face me.

"No, I should have taken you with us. I could have hidden you and you wouldn't have been harmed." I reasoned, letting the regret and stupidity of the situation overwhelm me. She would have been safer, I could have saved her.

"Ironhide, I'm fine!" She exclaimed as she sat up, throwing her arms up and giving me a shining smile.

"You have a fractured rib and a broken collarbone, you're not fine." I growled back, losing my patience with her. She was as hard-headed as, well, me. I placed a finger back on her and set her back on her pillow. She huffed and turned to glare at me.

"It's alright, you can go see Optimus or Ratchet." Alisha said, trying to keep her voice under control. The grip that my guilt had on my Spark tightened, I must have frightened her terribly. I am a fool, it's offical.

"No." I responded, reducing myself to one word answers.

"So you're not leaving."

"No." I felt my guilt rip through me with that one word.

"Not a single thing I say will make you change your mind, will it?"

"No." The guilt felt like it would consume my Spark, it was terrible.

"Can you say anything besides 'no'?" She chuckled. Ah, she does have a sense of humor. Something that I reputedly lack.

"Yes." I laughed, leaning back to rest against the side of Ratchet's concrete slab. The guilt relaxed slightly, making the world seem a bit brighter.

"Alright smart ass. Now you listen here-" She began before being interrupted by Ratchet storming through the doors. He held a small syringe in his hands, small by my gaze bur rather large for a human.

"Alisha, you need rest. Not arguing with this old timer." He said, pressing the needle deep into her arm and depressing the plunger. "This will help you sleep. Which is what I need you to do, not argue with Ironhide." She blinked slightly before her breathing became regular again, except for the wheezing.

**That wasn't just a sedative was it? **I asked, trying not to wake her.

**Well, it was in a sense. I supercharged it with Energon from our limited supply. **He answered back. I laughed as I settled back into my watch, almost heading into recharge before I noticed a change her breathing. It accelerated sharply, and she wimpered slightly in her sleep. I was beginning to rise up when she gave an ear splitting scream, sitting straight up in her small hospital bed.

"Alisha! What is it?" I asked, bringing my cannons out to fight off any physical threat. Nothing came though, as Alisha drew in breathed heavily. It racked through her lungs before emerging.

"Just a nightmare, it was just a dream, just a dream." She repeated over and over, hugging her arms to her chest as if her organs might fall out. I kept my watch over her, not relaxing until Ratchet came barging in. He looked at me, then at Alisha sitting there.

"Her heart rate spiked! What's wrong?" **Did you scare her out of her wits?** He asked, adding he last little bit over his inter COM so she would not hear any bad comments. I neglected to respond to his comment. He reached down to physcially acess her when she waved him off.

"Ratchet I'm fine, it was just a nightmare." She explained, dropping her hand back to her lap.

**Nightmare?** Ratchet questioned, looking at me.

**A manifestation of her sub-concious? **I shrugged.

"Nightmare?" He questioned, leaning down to talk to Alisha.

"Yeah, a bad dream. You guys have dreams right?" She said, laughter dying in her throat as she saw Ratchet and I looking at each other with confused looks on our faces. Ratch voiced our confusion.

"No, what are these dreams?"

"Well, when we go to sleep we sometimes imagine that everything we've wanted has come true, or we can fly, or anything we want! But, sometimes the bad part of your mind comes out. All of your fears. This nightmare was just terrible." She explained, drawing a bit of a chuckle from me. She glared at me from her perch in the bed.

**Told you, manifestation of the sub-concious.** I gloated as Ratchet continued his interrogation.

"What happened in it?"

"It was what happened yesterday, but he killed all of you. Then he became this weird guy with a kind of a cone shaped helmet on his head. Then I woke up." She said, then gained a look of relief upon her face. I cocked my head at her. ""If you tell someone your dream, it won't come true." I held back my laughter as Ratchet cleared his throat to hide his.

"You humans have strange myths." He managed to choke out.

"Can I just stay awake? I won't be able to go back to sleep." She begged, pouting slightly.

"No you need to rest." He replied.

"I'll wake up screaming again and make you drag your sorry butt back here." She threatened.

"Fine just ignore the doctor!" He yelled, sending her to cover her ears.

"It takes a lot to get him riled up." I mused as Ratchet left the med bay.

"Nah, I think he's faking. So you won't leave me, even when I go to sleep?" She asked, leaning back down. Her face became distorted for a second due to pain but she gritted her teeth and made it through.

"No, I will never leave your side. I am indebted to you not only for saving Ratchet but for leaving you behind." I explained, the guilt rewrapping itself.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it wasn't your fault." She gave an exasperated sigh and pressed further into her pillow.

"I still regret what happened, I could have protected you. I should have protected you." I replied, then stiffened as I felt her place a hand on my side. It sent tingling currents through my body. It took her a few moments to respond.

"You can't blame yourself, it was my fault. I wandered away from base. I never should of." She said, I snorted at the thought of her blaming herself.

"But if I had only hid you in the plane, you would have been safe." I responded, feeling fluid begin to well up in my optics.

"Yes but Barricade would've destroyed the base, everyone would be dead." She reasoned.

"He wouldn't of even been here." I gritted my teeth as I said this.

"You can be so stubborn, you know that?" She yelled, throwing her hands down onto the bed in frustration.

"Of course, why do think my name's Ironhide?" I chuckled, before laughing uncontrolably. Alisha managed to last out a few more seconds but soon joined me and we laughed the night away together.


	6. Slagging Humans

Alisha was incredibly happy today, by tomorrow she would be able to move once again. She had just awakened when a small contigent of soldiers walked through. Their leader started to laugh before shouting insults.

"Hey Ironhide, what are you doing guarding this bitch?" He taunted, bringing the laughter of his comrades. Alisha turned red with anger, or shame, and was just opening her mouth when I motioned for her to be quiet.

"I'll handle him." I growled, picking up the offending soldier. He seemed to shocked to struggle and the men that had joined him in bothering Alisha fled from me. I quickly walked out of hte hanger, headed for the tall flagpole at the main enterance to the base.

"You don't _ever _insult her." I cautioned him, pulling his underwear out and hanging it from the top of the pole. He clung to the U.S flag as if the stars and stripes were all that were keeping him alive. He yellede for help but, it being early in the morning, I knew none would come for quite awhile. When I reentered the hanger Alisha was sitting up and looking at me.

"What did you do to him?" She asked.

"A variation of what you humans call an atomic wedgie, he's now flying by his underwear from the highest flagpole." I responded, sending her into peals of laughter. By the time she had managed to regain control of herself there were tears in her eyes.

"Th-th-that's perfect!" She exclaimed, falling back into laughter. As time passed though, her laughter stopped and she became more serious. Finally she looked back over at me. A question bubbled from her.

"Why do you care for me so much Ironhide?" I sighed, relaxing my body. I had hoped that this question would never come up. The sheer level of attraction I had to her made it awkward to answer.

"Autobots sometimes bond with humans, we become their guardians. Bumblebee is Sam's, I guess I'm yours. They say you can tell by the way you feel when the person is harmed. It feels like your Spark is tearing itself apart, desperate to save the other. On Cybertron this was how we found mates, it still works on Earth but it's more like what you humans call best friends, or family." I explained, remembering the terrible feeling that I had felt when she was in trouble.

"Ah, Ironhide. Are you going soft on me?" She jokingly asked, leaning back on her pillow. I ignored the extreme irony with my name and my so called 'going soft' and answered her with what I was planning to do once she was healed.

"Soon as you get out of that bed the only people I'm trusting you with are Optimus and Ratchet." I responded, feeling my old bitter self come back for a moment.

"You are to funny." She joked, smiling at me.

"No I'm just pissed off. As soon as you're safe I'm going to get out of here to track down that Barricade and rip him into tiny pieces." I growled, visioning ripping the Barricade apart particle by particle.

"'Hide, I wouldn't be able to let you do that. I'd stress myself out worrying. That's what made me leave the base that day. I was worried." Her voice grew soft and I realized how different she was from the other humans. The others didn't care that much if we had been harmed, but she would physically make herself sick with worry over us.

"Don't call me 'Hide, it sounds like I'm some kind of teddy bear." I requested, choosing not to voice my thoughts.

"Ohh, sounds like someone's getting angry. You know for some reason I just know you're never going to live this down." Alisha had once again become her joking self, sassy and happy in the darkest of circumstances.

"You're probably right, Alisha." Optimus intoned, walking in through the doors of the hanger. I hastily stood at attention, eyes directly ahead and feet planted firmly. Optimus quirked and optic ridge at me. I sheepishly relaxed, he never had us treat him with an incredible amount of respect. He found it odd to be treated like our higher. "Ironhide always remembers his debts."

"Ironhide, you can leave if you want to. You said you'd trust me with Optimus." Alisha said, giving me her puppy dog eyes again.

"Actually Ironhide, I was hoping to speak to Alisha alone." Optimus ordered. I felt my Spark sink slightly at the thought of leaving her. **Ironhide, I heard some human cursing your name from the flag pole. Perhaps you could explain that to me later if you do not wish to leave? **He asked over the COM leading me to answer him.

"Yes, Optimus." I looked at Alisha as I left, she smiled and waved at me. As I walked away I could see a fire truck ladder headed up the flagpole to get Lee down. I chuckled to myself as i walked away.

"Hey Ironhide! Ironhide, stop!" I heard Lennox yell, I turned around and kneeled to speak to him. Lennox's hair was not gelled into it's usual spikiness and he rubbed his eyes like he had just woken up.

"What is it Will?" I asked.

"Why did you do that?" He queried, gesturing to the rescue going on behind us. I grimaced, shifting myself in place.

"He insulted Alisha, check the security cameras if you want. It's there." I replied coldly.

"I trust you Ironhide, just next time report him to me or something." Lennox ordered before walking off. I watched him leave with a small sense of pride. It was not often the humans took our advice off of the battle field.

"Ironhide, Optimus wants you back in with Alisha." Ratchet called from the hanger. I brightened considerable as I walked back in. Alisha was hunched under her blankets, a thoughtful look on her face as her eyes followed me.

"What did he tell you?" I asked, sitting by her once more.

"Oh, nothing. He just wanted to make sure I was feeling better." She answered nonchantly, waving a hand.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I am."


End file.
